New Smyrna CRA $107,000 grant to be reallocated

Thursday

Apr 3, 2014 at 6:04 PMApr 3, 2014 at 9:51 PM

By RICHARD CONNrichard.conn@news-jrnl.com

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — A roughly $107,000 Community Redevelopment Agency grant approved for the development of a assisted living facility on Washington Street will be reallocated after a building permit could not be secured in time to meet the city’s April 1 deadline.With the grant voided, that money could be shifted to fund home repairs in the Historic Westside neighborhood, a gateway project on Third Avenue and to buy more parking spaces in the Flagler Avenue area. Jim Vandergrifft, a former mayor who owns the property at the corner of Washington and Hillman streets, said he still hopes the four-story, 80-plus bed assisted living facility will be built there. He said he’s in talks with a company that would buy the property and build the project. “The people that we’re talking to are in the business, they have other facilities up north, and they want to come to Florida,” he said. A site plan had been approved for a 63-bed assisted living facility at 115 Washington St., the site of the city’s oldest hotel, the Alba Court Inn, which was built around 1900. The hotel was demolished in 2007.However, Vandergrifft asked last year that the plan be revised to add a fourth-story to make the project more financially viable. The Historic Preservation Commission turned down that request, saying the building height wouldn’t be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. However, the City Commission in September overturned the board’s decision.The City Commission also granted an extension from Dec. 31, 2013, to April 1 for project officials to secure the building permit. Vandergrifft said he informed city officials weeks ago that the deadline would not be met. “Financing, architectural takes a long time,” Vandergrifft said. “We weren’t sure if we could even meet it whenever we did the extension, but everybody was trying.” Vandergrifft said the assisted living facility, which would be $6 to $7 million project, would be able to proceed with the CRA grant. Tony Otte, the city’s CRA director said Thursday that $50,000 from that $107,311 would be used to fund — pending approval from the CRA board — a program that would provide grants up to $10,000 to nonprofit organizations such as the Southeast Volusia Habitat for Humanity to fix up houses in the Historic Westside. To be eligible for the repairs, the homes would have to be within the CRA district. Another $23,940 would be used for a gateway beautification project that would include a new sign on Third Avenue. The rest of the money could be used to acquire more parking, Otte said. Most recently, city officials are looking at purchasing three lots at northwest corner of Cooper Street and Jessamine Avenue for parking and are seeking appraisals for the property.